Carter paced the his home, his mind a maelstrom of strategy, paranoia, and the weight of the future pressing down on him.
The apocalypse didn't just bring death—it had stripped away law, morality, and consequence.
The weak-willed would break.
The strong-willed would see opportunity.
It was the same story in every survival scenario, wasn't it?
When civilization collapses, monsters crawl out of the shadows.
Not just the undead.
Humans.
The university where his sister was trapped had nearly thirty survivors in a single room, surviving in peace.
That wouldn't last.
Food was already running out, and once hunger and desperation set in…
People would turn on each other.
Carter tightened his grip on his knife, a bitter taste creeping into his mouth.
How many times had he read this scenario in zombie stories?
Some wannabe leader would rise up, declare himself to be the leader, or the defacto king, and suddenly the rules of the old world didn't apply anymore, only the rules they themselves made up did.
Strength ruled.
Women became commodities, and men who weren't useful became expendable, while those who were strong were watched carefully so that they did not rebel.
He ground his teeth.
Not while he was still alive.
Not while he had the system.
His little sister wouldn't be left to the mercy of some power-hungry bastard who thought he could rebuild society in his image.
The very thought made his stomach knot tighter.
As the call with Rachael had ended, Carter turned to his assembled warriors.
They had all heard the conversation, as he'd put the call on speaker not just to hear her voice but to try and hear what was happening in the background as well.
As such they knew what needed to be done.
"As you all know,"
Carter began, his voice steely,
"my sister is in danger. We have to reach her as soon as possible."
His sharp gaze swept over his warriors.
"But first, we need to secure this complex for good. This will be our temporary base of operations. And for that, I'm going to summon even more troops."
At that, 1 stepped forward, his towering form imposing.
"Chief, permission to speak?"
Carter nodded.
"Go ahead."
"If summon, others might see."
** 1 rumbled.**
"I could become a target. People envy power. They fear it, especially if they don't understand it. If anyone was watching and saw what he could do, they might try to take him down before he could become too strong, or maybe in the hope that they could steal the power he wielded to summon warriors."
Carter's jaw tightened.
That was a damned good point.
Even if most of the people in the city were dead, someone might still be watching, looking for signs of life from afar by way of binoculars.
The last thing he needed was people questioning his abilities, or trying to rally the survivors against him for not helping sooner, or with greater support.
Since he'd been made away he quickly moved to close up the blinds and shades, then using the system summoned some basic equipment by way of massive animal pelts, probably from a mammoth or something, and then getting those hung up to further block the view into his suite.
Once he was assure every viewpoint had been covered he started to enact his next plan.
Carter pulled up his laptop, before powering it on, thankfully it was the company he worked for who provided IT services to his own building, and thus he had access to the security systems themselves.
With a practiced hand he quickly caused the camera systems in building C to loop their feeds effectively making any outsider who was viewing remotely from afar also blind to anything further he decided to do.
Only his first ever summon could in theory have been sighted assuming someone was gazing into his condo at the precise moment of their summon, while all the other summoning took place within the stairwell, an area not covered by the camera systems.
Now that they were off the grid, Carter moved fast.
100 more warriors.
Most of them combat specialists.
A whopping 200,000 dollars spent in one instant.
And yet… thanks to the fortune spin, it barely made a dent in his funds.
Due to the size of his suite he could only summon in batches of twenty but once each new batch left with weapons In tow and the door closed behind them a new group was summoned.
Cavenen stood shoulder to shoulder on the ground floor, each clad in furs, and pelts typical garb for the paleolithic caveman on the go, and deadly weapons clutched in their massive brawny hands.
Their collective presence was overwhelming.
A small army, ready for war.
At that moment, a system notification popped up.
[You have two new missions.]
✔️ Found a base of operations.
✔️ Save your precious little sister.
Carter's lips curled into a grim smile.
Perfect.
Carter headed down the stairs and into the ground floors open atrium, before turning to his newly assembled army, their gazes locked onto him.
"Alright, listen up."
His voice rang through the room, commanding their full attention.
"We have two objectives. First— we secure this complex and establish it as our strongpoint. and Second—"
He paused, his gaze darkening.
"We go out there tomorrow and get my sister back."
A synchronized response followed:
"YES, CHIEF!"
Carter exhaled, the weight of leadership pressing on his shoulders.
The time for defense was over.
Now?
They were going on the offensive.
As the army began final preparations to storm the courtyard and secure their immediate surroundings.
Carter glanced out the window, after having addressed his warriors, he returned to his home watching the city continue to burn.
With the system, he had power.
Enough to reshape this world if he wanted.
But power attracts challengers.
He could already see it happening.
Some survivors would see his growing influence as a threat.
Some would call him a tyrant before he even had a chance to prove otherwise.
Someone, somewhere, would try to usurp him.
It was only a matter of time.
But for now?
He had two objectives.
And the first one was almost complete, for even now as night was setting in, the cavemen army had burst forth into the courtyard unleashing bloody hell upon the undead invaders.
The support summons working to close and barricade the gates to prevent further incursion by the undead, while the cavemen themselves started to move and begin clearing the three remaining builds along with the rest of the grounds.
Carter pulled up the system's construction options.
It was a tab he had not bothered to look at since buildings were not a concern to him before.
The system offered structures—but their costs were astronomical, at least when compared to the summons themselves.
Still…
A self-sufficient cavern.
A wooden thatched hut.
the system could create all of that, out of thin air just like with his warriors and weapons.
If he could manage to advance the system he could unlock something a bit more permenant.
A true sanctuary in a world of monsters and chaos.
But first—
They had a city to cleanse.
And he had a sister to save.
Carter turned to gaze back to the warriors still fighting below, his eyes burning with resolve.
This battle was likely to be over within the hour but the war was just beginning.